UPDATED: Giron concedes, joins Morse in recall defeat

Facing an insurmountable lead from recall challenger George Rivera as the evening wore on, Colorado state Sen. Angela Giron conceded defeat Tuesday night. She became just the second Colorado lawmaker to be recalled in history, mere hours after state Senate president John Morse became the first in a wave of opposition sparked by their votes in favor of tighter firearm restrictions.

Earlier Tuesday evening, the Pueblo County’s elections department website had crashed because it was overwhelmed after the polls closed in the Senate District 3 recall election. Pueblo County Clerk Bo Ortiz told Chieftain reporters the site was not hacked. Ortiz said the vote-counting process was moving slowly because “we are verifying everything. We want to make sure everything is secure. But they are coming in.”